Slumber

Lin Ye suddenly tore off his own left arm, his right hand gripping the empty air before making a fierce, clawing motion.

"Devour!"

The severed arm trembled violently, the berserk power contained within it compressing and converging frantically.

"Let's go to hell together!"

Lin Ye hurled the sphere of energy, condensed to its absolute limit in his palm, straight at the gray-robed leader!

The light sphere left his hand, transforming into a streak of light that reached the leader's chest in an instant!

"No--!!!"

The gray-robed leader shrieked in terror, his hands forming seals frantically as he tried to manifest a shield to protect his body while simultaneously attempting to trigger a secret technique to teleport away.

"BOOM--!!!"

Countless conflicting energies detonated, a destructive shockwave swallowing the center of the cave.

Everyone was sent flying like kites with broken strings, slamming heavily against the cave walls. The cave shook violently, as if the apocalypse had arrived.

When the blinding light and smoke finally cleared, only a pitch-black crater remained in the center.

The gray-robed leader, along with the space he had occupied, had been completely erased.

Inside the cave, there was dead silence.

Su Muxue struggled to crawl out from a pile of rubble, ignoring the pain throughout her body as her beautiful eyes looked anxiously toward Lin Ye.

A figure leaned against the cave wall and slowly stood up.

He glanced at the charred crater, his expression emotionless, and simply spat out a single sentence:

"Two left."

The two gray-robed men, heavily wounded by the shockwave, struggled to their feet, filled with both shock and rage.

"You actually dared to... kill the leader... you will die!"

Lin Ye couldn't be bothered to acknowledge their clamoring; he summoned his right hand, and the Star-Shattering Sword flew back into his grip.

He tightened his hold on the hilt, his gaze calm as he looked at the pair: "Together, or one by one?"

"Arrogant!" One gray-robed man roared, suppressing his injuries and fear as his figure transformed into a gray shadow, his hands clawing straight for Lin Ye's throat. The other simultaneously unleashed a mental shockwave, striking directly at Lin Ye's sea of consciousness.

Lin Ye merely gave a light, casual thrust with the Star-Shattering Sword, the tip precisely striking the joint of his opponent's claw.

The gray-robed man on the right also released a mental shockwave, aiming it at Lin Ye.

The gray-robed man's expression changed abruptly, and his claws retracted instantly.

Lin Ye stepped with the Flowing Cloud Steps, his figure shifting half a step to the side to evade the mental shockwave.

The Star-Shattering Sword in his hand followed the momentum, tracing an arc as it stabbed toward the gray-robed man behind him.

"Sshhh!"

The Star-Shattering Sword pierced the protective blood-red light with a faint tearing sound, sinking into the gray-robed man's lower abdomen.

In just two breaths, Lin Ye, despite his grievous injury and severed arm, had neutralized the combined attack of two gray-robed men and even left a shallow but painful wound on one of them.

A chill crept into the hearts of the two gray-robed men.

Is this guy really at the end of his rope?

Why are his movements still so precise and swift? How can his combat awareness still be so terrifying?

Lin Ye only felt that, ever since he had sacrificed his arm, his body had actually shed a heavy burden.

"Continue."

The gray-robed men subconsciously retreated half a step.

"Attack together, kill him! He is already at the end of his strength and won't last much longer."

"Hum--!"

Just then, an unexpected change occurred!

A humming sound came from the depths of the cave, and a surge of energy erupted from the depths of the fissure, instantly filling the entire cavern.

"This is..." A look of wild joy erupted in the eyes of the gray-robed men!

"It's the energy of the Earth Vein Core; the Master's power is seeping through!" The gray-robed man on the left trembled with excitement.

"Haha! Heaven helps us! The Earth Vein energy is erupting, the space here will become unstable, and it will suppress all other types of true qi! Kid, your death day has arrived!" The gray-robed man on the right laughed maniacally.

As that earth-attribute energy permeated the air, Lin Ye immediately felt as if the power within his body had fallen into an invisible quagmire, its potency greatly diminished.

In this dense environment of earth-attribute energy, the two gray-robed men were like fish in water; the recovery speed of their injuries seemed to quicken slightly, and their auras began to recover.

"Kill!"

The two gray-robed men exchanged a glance and lunged at Lin Ye simultaneously.

"Lin Ye! Catch the sword!"

A sword light radiating a biting chill streaked through the night like a shooting star, hurtling toward Lin Ye.

Ignoring her own injuries, Su Muxue hurled the ice-blue longsword in her hand like a hidden weapon, firing it toward Lin Ye.

She herself moved like lightning, following close behind the sword light as she lunged at one of the gray-robed figures, attempting to shoulder some of the pressure for Lin Ye!

"Brother Lin, we're here too!"

Chen Feng also let out a roar, charging toward the other gray-robed figure! His swordsmanship was wide and sweeping, a style of fighting that traded life for life, all to create a sliver of an opportunity for Lin Ye!

The two disciples also gritted their teeth and followed, flanking from both sides in an attempt to distract the gray-robed figures.

As the ice-blue longsword came into his hand, Lin Ye felt his spirit lift slightly.

He faced the gray-robed figure on the left, who was rushing at him head-on with the most intense aura, and thrust his sword out.

This was the strongest strike he could unleash, fusing every ounce of power he could currently muster.

Like a streak of light, it appeared instantly at the center of the gray-robed figure's brow.

The savage grin on the gray-robed figure's face froze abruptly.

"No..."

He only had time to utter half a syllable from his throat.

"Ssh."

The gray-robed figure's forward momentum came to an abrupt halt, and the light in his eyes rapidly extinguished.

"Run!"

The remaining gray-robed figure dared not linger, his body recoiling sharply as he frantically struck out with several palm winds, then fled desperately toward the rift exit without looking back.

"You want to leave?"

Lin Ye's eyes were cold; how could he let a tiger return to the mountains? He forced himself to gather his final breath of true qi, preparing to give chase.

"Pfft—"

A mouthful of blood sprayed wildly from his mouth, and his vision suddenly went black.

"Lin Ye!" Su Muxue rushed forward to support his body.

"Chase... don't let him... bring the news back..."

Su Muxue looked at the back of the gray-robed figure who had already vanished, gritting her teeth.

"Chen Feng, take care of Lin Ye! I'm going after him!"

Her figure turned into a wisp of smoke as she pursued toward the rift exit.

She knew that if that gray-robed figure escaped, the future consequences would be endless.

Chen Feng helped Lin Ye lean against the cave wall.

"Brother Lin, hold on! You must hold on!"

The two disciples also gathered around, their faces filled with anxiety and helplessness.

Lin Ye slowly closed his eyes, feeling his life slipping away at a rapid pace.

Am I going to die...

Scenes from his past life and the fragments of his current one flashed before his eyes like a revolving lantern.

Was he unwilling? Of course he was unwilling.

But it seemed there were no great regrets either.

In the darkness, a tiny glimmer seemed to flicker in the distance.

Was it Su Muxue's ice-blue sword light? Or something else...

He tried desperately to grasp that glimmer, but his vision suddenly went black, and he plummeted completely into the boundless darkness, falling silent.

Inside the cave, only Chen Feng's heart-wrenching cries remained, intertwining with the rumbling of the earth veins, chilling everyone to the bone.